“Embedding” in a web context means placing content from another web service or web site inside your own web page. You may have seen this in blog posts or news sites, when a video from YouTube is placed right in the page with the author’s comments. Not all content on the web can be embedded, but popular sites like YouTube, Google Docs, Vimeo, SlideShare and others provide you with embed codes that can be used in Blackboard.
While it is true that you can link to any web resource from Blackboard, embedding provides you with some definite benefits:
Linked content:
- Takes a student away from your Blackboard site. Source website may contain ads, links, or other potentially distracting material.
- Students must navigate multiple pages, sometimes leading to confusion.
- Each source must be linked separately.
- If there is a broken or outdated link, unrelated content or error messages may appear.
Embedded content:
- Keeps students in the Blackboard site with the full site navigation visible at all times.
- Multiple content items from different sources can be presented together.
- If links are broken, embedding will usually present a graceful error.
Embedding HTML content from another site does not download or save it in your Blackboard course— like a link, when you embed content in your course, it is always drawn from the web content source directly. This means that, in the case of changing information, students will always be presented with the most current content. HOWEVER, like a link, this also means that content may be removed or changed by the site owner!
Here's an embedded video tutorial (from Otterbein College) about how to embed videos in Blackboard. Notice here how the content from this external site shows up directly in this webpage-- the same technique used to embed this video can be used in Blackboard or any other website!
Below are some examples of sites that allow for the use and creation of embeddable content. This is by no means an exhaustive list!
Presentations and Documents
Slideshare [http://www.slideshare.net/]
Share slideshows in a web-native format. Upload PowerPoints directly into the
site. Can also support adding
narrations via an external MP3.
Similar Items:
Google Docs-
Presentations [http://docs.google.com]
XTimeline [http://xtimeline.com/]
Create interactive timelines, including images, video, and
descriptive text for each event.
Photo Slideshows
Kizoa
[http://www.kizoa.com/]
Create photo slideshows with musical backgrounds.
Flickr
[http://flickr.com]
Photography website.
Easily embed slideshows of uploaded photographs.
Picasa Web
[http://picasaweb.google.com]
Video Sites
YouTube
[http://www.youtube.com/]
Upload videos (up to 10 minutes). Includes some advanced features such as in-video annotation
and captioning.
Vimeo [http://vimeo.com/]
Video sharing site.
Viddler [http://www.viddler.com/]
Video sharing site.
Visual Organizers, Graphing, and Diagramming
Mindmeister:
[http://www.mindmeister.com/]
Create interactive and collaborative concept-maps.
Gliffy
[http://www.gliffy.com/]
Flowchart and diagramming tool.
Maps
Google Maps
[http://maps.google.com]
Map locations—create personalized maps!
Interactive Chat and Real-time Communication
Meebo [http://www.meebome.com/]
Interactive Chat – embedded in any website.
Skype
[http://skype.com]
Video- and audio-conferencing software. Embed a button on your website to
allow users to call you using the Skype software.
Social Networking
Twitter
[http://twitter.com]
Display real-time updates from twitter.
Sample: http://tlt.sxu.edu/
Facebook
[http://www.facebook.com]
Embed Facebook Page updates
Social Bookmarking
Delicious.com
[http://delicious.com]
Save and share bookmarks.
Diigo
[http://diigo.com]
Bookmarks and website annotations.
RSS Feeds
Feed2JS [http://feed2js.org/]
Use this site to generate code that will display the latest
items from any RSS feed in your webpage!
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